Fatal Luna County plane crash remains under investigation

DEMING — Federal authorities continued investigating the crash of a small single-engine plane in northeastern Luna County on Thursday that killed the pilot.

Carl Link, who recently moved to New Mexico from Missouri, was found dead in the Cessna 150, which crashed Wednesday afternoon in a remote area off Highway 26, also known as the Hatch Highway. He was found by a Radium Springs man hiking in the area.

The plane crashed into a small valley surrounded by hills near Cooke's Peak, about 20 miles northeast of Deming. No buildings were in the near vicinity of the downed plane, but cattle and a ranch are nearby.

After examining the plane, investigators said it looked like the back end of the plane hit something, possibly a peak of one of the nearby mountains, which caused it to crash. The debris field stretched for over two miles.

The Associated Press reports that the FAA received a distress call from the pilot saying he was losing his vision before they lost contact.

Luna County Undersheriff Arturo Baeza described the scene he saw when he responded to the crash, saying the signs of wreckage made him believe the crash followed the pilot having medical issues.

"It went over a ridge, there were some pieces there on the side of the hill and then it went through a little valley, there's some pieces there, and then it started getting into the flats and it finally ended up with the engine, propellors and one of the wheels," he described. "The body (Link) was probably 60 yards from the engine and propellor portion.

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Authorities searched the area to see if anyone else was in the plane but found no evidence of that.

The Radium Springs man who found the wreckage reportedly heard the whizzing sound of an airplane flying by, but never saw the plane nor heard the crash.

On his way out of the area, he noticed wreckage about a quarter mile off a dirt road. Upon inspecting the wreckage, the man found the plan upside-down, with one wheel sticking into the air. Inside the cockpit, Link was found deceased. The man then found cell phone reception and reported the crash to authorities.

On Thursday, federal officials were still at the crash site investigating. A New Mexico State Police officer stood watch over the area, keeping media from approaching the scene.

Baeza said he understood the pilot had filed a flight plan with the FAA. He was reportedly flying east out of the Silver City area before the crash.

Link's age and residence have not yet been made available.

Matt Robinson writes for the Deming Headlight, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership.